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Inside CERN and the hunt for a subatomic linchpin of the universe A look at the Large Hadron Collider where researchers are hunting for the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that is central to physics’ Standard Model.
This graphic shows a representation of traces of a proton-proton collision measured in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience in the search for the Higgs boson. After a quest spanning nearly half a century, physicists said on July 4 they had found a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the Higgs boson which is believed to confer mass. Rousing cheers and a standing ovation broke out at the CERN after scientists presented data in their long search for the mysterious particle.
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AFP/Getty Images
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A picture with a zoom effect show a grafic traces of proton-proton collisions events measured by European Organization for Nuclear Research in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience on May 25, 2011 in the search for the Higgs boson.
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AFP/Getty Images
A file photo taken on September 10, 2008 shows a European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) scientist looking at computer screens showing traces on the Atlas experiment of the first protons injected in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) during its switch-on operation at the CERN's press center near Geneva.
FABRICE COFFRINI
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AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Fabiola Gianotti, ATLAS experiment spokesperson (L) and Joe Incandela, spokesperson of the CMS experiment, look at a screen during a scientific seminar to deliver the latest update in the search for the Higgs boson at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Meyrin near Geneva July 4, 2012.
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Reuters
A graphic presents traces of proton-proton collision measured in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience. Physicists at the CERN said that they had narrowed the search for the elusive subatomic Higgs boson particle that would confirm the way science describes the universe.
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AFP/Getty Images
A graphic showing traces of collision of particles at the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experience is pictured with a slow speed experience at the Universe of Particles exhibition of the the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
Fabrice Coffrini
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AFP/Getty Images
Two engineers works to assemble one of the layers of the world's largest superconducting solenoid magnet at the European Organization for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider.particle accelerator, in Geneva, Switzerland. Scientists at CERN held a public seminar Dec. 13 to present their latest findings from the search for an elusive sub-atomic particle known as the Higgs boson. Physicists are increasingly confident that they have narrowed down the place where it will be found and may even already have hints at its existence hidden away in reams of data.
Martial Trezzini
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AP
The last of 1,746 superconducting magnets is lowered into the LHC tunnel via a specially constructed pit. This dipole magnet is one of 1,232 dipoles positioned around the collider. Dipole magnets produce a magnetic field that bends the particle beams around the circular accelerator.
Maximilien Brice
In order for technicians to get around the 16.8-mile tunnel that houses the collider, various methods of transportation must be employed.
Maximilien Brice
A welder is seen making the very first interconnection between two cryomagnets for the collider. The 1,700 interconnections between superconducting magnets for the whole collider will require 123,000 separate welding and assembly operations.
Maximilien Brice
Model of a superconducting dipole magnet for the LHC project. The superconducting coils that will carry the current to produce the magnetic field can be seen.
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CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research ‘s Large Hadron Collider, part of which is shown here, is the biggest machine on Earth. The $10 billion circular tunnel beneath the French-Swiss border is 17 miles long. Researchers are hoping the machine can help determine whether the Higgs boson particle exists. The theoretical particle would explain why atoms have mass.
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CERN
This 2007 photo shows the magnet core of the world's largest superconducting solenoid magnet at the European Organization for Nuclear Research's Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Geneva.
Martial Trezzini
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AP
These are the first “cold boxes,” a major component of the Large Hadron Collider's cryogenic system, to be delivered to the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
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CERN
A researcher works on the wiring of an end-cap that will measure the energy of photons, electrons and positrons passing through it. Millions of wires are connected to the electromagnetic calorimeter on this end-cap.
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CERN
CERN’s liquid-argon barrel calorimeter cryostat, dwarfing the people standing beneath it, is used in the Atlas particle physics experiment. The Web site for the Atlas experiment says scientists are "searching for new discoveries in the head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy."
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CERN
At CERN’s facility beneath the French-Swiss border, several magnets are in various stages of testing. There are six more test benches on the other side of the gantry, which contain the cryogenic and power systems.
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CERN
A magnet transport device at the Large Hadron Collider operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
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CERN
Researchers work on the Atlas Inner Detector End-Cap. Scientists are using the device in searching for the Higgs boson, a subatomic particle so elusive that, even with the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, there’s no way to see it directly. The particle is created in collisions of subatomic particles, but it only exists for about a yoctosecond, or one septillionth of a second. It then decays into other particles. The scientists at CERN study the debris field for signals consistent with a Higgs having decayed.
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CERN
Magnets have been installed in one of the two Large Hadron Collider transfer tunnels.
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CERN
The Compact Muon Solenoid project is yet another experiment taking place at CERN that is aimed at finding the Higgs boson. Here, the outer shell of a vacuum tank has been welded and inserted into the central yoke of the CMS detector. The central yoke weighs nearly 2,000 tons and is more than 50 feet tall.
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CERN
Crystals made from lead tungstate are as clear as glass but nearly four times as dense. They were produced in Russia to be used as in the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. When an electron, positron or photon passes through another device called the calorimeter, it will cause a cascade of particles that will be absorbed by these crystals, allowing the particle’s energy to be measured.
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CERN
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